Mia's heart suddenly sank!
Ethan's words were like a cold scalpel, tearing open the cruel reality deep within her heart that she'd vaguely agreed with but refused to face.
She felt a suffocating bitterness; reality really was that cold and real.
Mia bit her lip, unable to find a reason to push back.
Ethan's lips curled into a knowing smile, a smile that looked especially charming under the soft lighting.
He said no more, but stepped forward with an irresistible presence. One arm naturally and firmly wrapped around Mia's slender, soft waist, gently pulling her closer to him.
"Ah..." Mia's body trembled violently, like a startled fawn, but she didn't immediately push away.
Her body's instincts seemed to surrender before reason could catch up.
She hurriedly lowered her head, her voice as faint as a whisper, holding onto the last line of professional defense: "Eth... Ethan! Don't be like that. Our bank has strict rules against employees having personal relationships with clients. If it gets found out, I'll be fired..."
This was the only "legitimate" reason she could grasp at this moment.
Ethan chuckled softly, his warm breath brushing past her ear: "Fired? Wouldn't that be perfect?"
He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him, his gaze burning and direct: "Come work for me directly, be my personal secretary. Whatever the bank can give you, I can give you double. And what the bank can't give you..."
His gaze swept over the luxurious home in the sky, and the unfinished meaning in his words was clear without another word needed.
Mia was forced to tilt her face back to meet Ethan's handsome, intense expression right in front of her.
His deep eyes seemed to carry a pull, sweeping away all her reason and resolve.
Her eyes instantly grew misty, her long lashes trembled violently, and her breathing became quick and heavy.
A tremendous, dizzying pull of temptation and instinct drove her, making her instinctively close her eyes, and her hands, seemingly beyond her own control, filled with hesitation and longing, gently came to rest on Ethan's chest.
However, just as Ethan bent down and their faces were about to meet,
"No... no!" A wave of overwhelming embarrassment and a jolt of professional instinct thundered through Mia's mind!
She summoned all her strength, suddenly pushing Ethan back, staggering two steps away, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed red.
"My head's a mess right now! I... I need to go home and think this through!" She stammered incoherently, not even daring to look at Ethan again. She grabbed the handbag off the sofa and nearly fled in a panic, "You don't need to walk me out!"
Before she finished speaking, she'd already vanished at the entrance, leaving only the faint "ding" of the elevator doors closing.
Ethan stood where he was, looking at the empty entryway. Instead of frustration, he wore a knowing smile tinged with amusement.
Mia's reaction was within his expectations.
The wavering in her eyes, her body's yielding, and her final resistance all clearly showed that her defenses had long since loosened.
His seemingly cold "scarce resource" logic and the forward move just now had just been a push, giving her a chance to see her own heart clearly and give herself a way in.
The groundwork was already laid; all that was left was to wait a little longer.
However, the spark that had been lit didn't fade just because she'd fled; if anything, it left him even more restless.
The one who'd started the fire had left, so naturally, he needed someone else to put it out.
The playful smile on Ethan's face hadn't faded yet, but he'd already slipped back into his usual lazy, easygoing demeanor.
He immediately took out his phone, opened iMessage, found Maddie's contact, and video-called her.
Meanwhile, in the college girls' dorm, the noise rose and fell in waves.
Maddie was in the middle of discussing a show she'd just watched with her roommates when her phone screen suddenly lit up, displaying the name and photo that made her heart race.
"Ah!" She let out a low breath, her face instantly lighting up with delight. She gestured for her roommates to be quiet, quickly grabbed the headphones off the bed, and answered, "Hey! Babe?"
Her voice was deliberately low, sweet and clingy.
Since the yacht trip, although they texted every day, that dreamy connection felt like it had been ages.
The video call at this hour made her heart race wildly.
When she heard Ethan's deep, magnetic voice ask her to come to The Hudson Residences right now,
Maddie barely had a moment to think before blurting out, "Sure! I'm coming right away!"
Her tone was undisguised excitement and eagerness.
After hanging up the video call, her face was still flushed with excitement. She immediately jumped off the bed, moving as swiftly as a cheerful little bird.
She quickly fixed her hair and makeup in front of the mirror, grabbed her small clutch, and rushed out.
"Maddie, where are you off to this late? Meeting your boyfriend?" one of her roommates asked curiously.
"Mm-hm! Bye!" Maddie didn't even look back, leaving behind only a trail of perfume and brisk footsteps as she disappeared out the dorm door.
She didn't even ask for the exact address, just that the building was called The Hudson Residences.
She flagged down a cab and, without hesitation, headed toward the man waiting for her.
In the darkness, the cab merged into traffic, carrying her along with hopeful eyes.
...
The Hudson Residences.
In the vast primary bedroom, only a few ambient lights remained on, casting a hazy glow.
Maddie lay collapsed like a fish washed ashore, sprawled across a top-tier mattress large enough for several people, gasping for breath.
Her consciousness seemed to have drifted away; before her eyes were swirling spots of light, and all she could hear was her own pounding heartbeat and the rush of blood in her ears.
After the peak of pleasure comes a sense of utter emptiness, body and mind completely drained.
Time flowed by in luxurious stillness.
She didn't know how much time had passed before her fingertips twitched ever so slightly, as if reconnecting with her body.
A bit of strength began to flow back, and her senses gradually settled. She rediscovered the silky, water-smooth, top-grade Egyptian cotton sheets beneath her, felt the soft down comforter wrapped around her, and caught the lingering, charged scent still hanging in the air, mixed with something uniquely his.
Only now did she truly have the energy to take in the place that had just become her little sanctuary of pleasure.
Everywhere she looked, there was quiet astonishment!
Just this primary suite alone was suffocatingly spacious!
Easily over a thousand square feet, comparable to an entire apartment on its own!
The ultimate minimalist East-meets-West style showcased top-tier materials and craftsmanship throughout, including warm ebony wood flooring, sleek artistic ceilings, and a top-tier sound system embedded in the walls...
Especially the 270-degree glass wall, which offered a full view of the most vibrant stretch of the city skyline.
It was only now that Maddie realized homes could be this luxurious.
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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